This invention relates to turning apparatus and more particularly to apparatus for turning a plurality of adjacent rotatable elements.
The present invention, while of general application, is particularly well-suited for tightening or loosening bolts and other fastening elements under high torque. Large suspension bridges, for example, utilize several thousands of bolts to hold the cable bands in place around the suspension or main cables of the bridge, and the cable bands carry the vertical suspender cables or ropes which support the roadway. Typically, each cable band is of barrel-shaped configuration and comprises two semi-cylindrical castings bolted together top and bottom with up to twenty bolts. Each of these bolts must be periodically checked and retightened to a precise load to prevent the band from slipping relative to the associated cable.
Heretofore, difficulties have been encountered in the tightening or loosening of bolts and other rotatable elements. As an illustration, the torque necessary to turn the elements often has had an adverse twisting affect on the adjacent structure. In addition, it has been difficult to tighten the elements to a precise load in order to maintain an adequate clamping force. These difficulties were of special concern in the tightening of suspension bridge cable band bolts and in other turning operations involving the application of high torque and critical clamping forces.